The Mind Games Read Online Free PDF Page B

an uneasy circle. My patience grew thin. This was ridiculous. Hanging out on the beach was fun and all, but were we seriously going to sunbathe like college students on spring break?
    “I thought we were here to train?” I said immediately.
    “We will,” my mom replied, slipping off her jacket and tossing it aside. “Nora told you she was imprisoned?”
    I nodded, wondering what their agenda was by discussing this now, and I knew there was an agenda. I had a feeling there was always an agenda with these people. A week , I thought to myself. I only had a week and I’d be free of these people.
    “Over eight years ago, your father decided to attack. He’d found out where I was located, and that I still had Nora.” She glanced at Nora. “We weren’t expecting it. We’d lived in peace for such a long time…”
    She looked away, out to the ocean. I could sense the heaviness of her energy pulsing around me, as if my abilities had kicked into overdrive. I curled my fingers, confused by the sudden tingly feeling that swept over my body.
    “I was…high.”
    Startled, I wasn’t sure where to look. Mom had been drugged out while Nora had been abducted? So much for that Mom of the Year mug I’d been planning to give her.
    “I’d just turned twelve.” Nora smiled, a sad smile that got to me, even though I’d never admit it. “They attacked at night. We were living near Boston at the time.”
    “Over and done with before I’d even had time to prepare,” Mom whispered, picking up a smooth pebble. “Others had warned me not to be so trustworthy. They said we’d be protected if we joined the Savannah league, but I had refused. I’d wanted my space; my freedom.”
    If I had been with her, would I have been abducted as well? The thought left me cold.
    Nora picked up a broken shell and threw it toward the water. “First, he tried to pretend he loved me. Tried to pretend he cared. I didn’t fall for it.”
    A heated flush crawled up my neck. Unlike me. I’d fallen for Dad’s pretty words, hadn’t I? But to be fair, I hadn’t grown up knowing our past. No, thanks to Mom, Dad, and Grandma, I’d been totally clueless. I’d been easy prey for his charm.
    “I’m sorry,” I said, not wanting to hear anymore. “I am, but what does this have to do with me?”
    “Nora was his daughter, she was a child,” my mom said, dropping the pebble she held. “I don’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
    “Yeah, but I’m not a child.”
    “Not even adults do well against S.P.I.,” Mom insisted. “Just because you’re eighteen doesn’t mean you’ll win if you take on your father.”
    “Deborah ring a bell?” Nora butted in.
    And here I’d actually felt sorry for her. I should have known better than to feel anything for these people. “I have to save Lewis.”
    Mom shook her head, releasing a harsh laugh. “You won’t listen to reason?”
    I rose to my feet. This was a waste of time, I should have known they weren’t really going to train me. “I’m saving Lewis, so if you have nothing valuable to add, I’m leaving.”
    Nora stood. “I’m going with her.”
    “No,” I snapped at the same time as Mom.
    I jerked my gaze toward her. Mom’s response caught me more off guard than Nora’s. So, we agreed on something, anyway. “Exactly,” I said, returning my attention to Nora. “I don’t need your help.” And I certainly didn’t need the guilt if she was caught and tortured again. “Now, if you guys don’t have anything useful for me, I’m leaving.”
    First things first, I’d have to find a way off this damn island.
    “Don’t get your panties in a knot,” Nora said.
    “Screw you,” I threw over my shoulder as I started for the boardwalk, even more determined to get off this island, away from these people.
    “Ladies,” Sierra called out. I planned on ignoring the woman, until she called to me directly. “Cameron, please stop.”
    There was something about her voice, about her very